Let's Examine the Scriptures Every Day 2022
Saturday April 16, 2022
Christ was raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:20).
By calling Jesus “firstfruits,” the apostle Paul implied that later there would also be other people who would be resurrected to live in heaven (1 Cor. 15:18). In time, all who were “in union with Christ”—including the apostles—would be resurrected to live in heaven, just like Jesus. By the time Paul wrote to the Corinthians, the heavenly resurrection of those "in union with Christ" had not yet begun. In fact, he hinted that it would happen at a future time. He said: “Each one in his own order: Christ as firstfruits, and afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence” (1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:15, 16). As we see, the apostles and other anointed ones would have to wait until Christ's presence to receive his heavenly reward and be "united with him in a resurrection like his" (Rom. 6:5). We now live in the foretold "presence" of Christ. w20.12 5 para. 12; 6 paras. 16, 17
Why did some Corinthian Christians have wrong beliefs about the resurrection?
In the Greek city of Corinth, some Christians had mistaken beliefs about the resurrection, to the point of denying this teaching (1 Cor. 15:12). Why? In the neighboring city of Athens, there were philosophers who scoffed at the idea that Jesus had been resurrected, and that way of thinking may have rubbed off on some Christians in Corinth (Acts 17:18, 31, 32). Others may have seen the resurrection as symbolic. They thought that, before being Christians, being sinners was as if they were dead; but, by becoming Christians, they received the forgiveness of sins and it was as if they came back to life. For one thing or another, if they did not believe in the resurrection, their faith was worthless. If God had not raised Jesus, the ransom had not been paid and their sins had not been forgiven.
According to 1 Peter 3:18, 22, what was the difference between the resurrection of Jesus and the previous ones?
Paul had seen for himself that Christ had been "raised from the dead." His resurrection was better than that of those who rose before him, for they died again. Paul also called Jesus "the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep in death." In what sense was Jesus the firstfruits or firstfruits? He was the first human to be resurrected as a spirit being and the first to go to heaven (1 Cor. 15:20; Acts 26:23; read 1 Peter 3:18, 22).
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